The present invention relates generally to recycling of household and commercial wastes. In particular, it relates to vehicles for collecting recyclables at curbside or at places of commerce.
As a result of increasing concern for the environment and the efficient use of energy resources, there has been a growing interest in recycling of materials, especially recyclable components of household refuse. Among the types of materials that can be recycled are cardboard, chipboard, magazines, newspaper, plastics, glasses and metals. However, in order to recycle these materials efficiently, they have to be collected and carefully sorted. Recyclables may fall into any one of a dozen different categories. Glass, for example, may be clear, green or brown; plastics may be made of clear polyethylene (PET) or high density polyethylene (HDPE) or mixed plastics. Homeowners and business owners, even when highly motivated to recycle, have difficulty sorting recyclables into all the categories possible.
Another problem with collecting recyclables is the volume of materials. Glass, cardboard, newspaper, chipboard, magazines and plastic bottles are bulky. Metal cans can be crushed to some extent by the homeowner but still occupy a considerable portion of their original volume. Vehicles for transporting materials are limited by both space and weight, but with recyclables, the volume limits are reached well before the weight limits are reached. Each trip to haul wastes where the volume limits are reached well before the weight limits means that the vehicle is not being used effectively. Doubling the amount of weight on a load will significantly improve transportation economics but would have insignificant impact on fuel consumption.
Finally, the economics of recycling in general are fragile. In addition to transportation costs, a major component of costs is the cost of handling. Reducing handling helps to tip the economic factors in favor of recycling and may itself make the difference between a successful recycling program and one that fails.
There have been a number of approaches made to addressing the problem of recycling. The attempts based on having the consumer sort recyclables are impractical because, other than performing a very general sort, consumers are not sensitive to the different kinds of glass, metal, or plastic that need to be segregated. More recently, sorting is being done at a central sorting station. Recyclables are brought there and dumped onto large conveyors where technicians sort through them. The segregated recyclables are then taken to various destinations for reuse. This approach assures that the sorting is done correctly.
Thus there remains a need for a better way to collect and sort recyclables.
The present invention is a vehicle for collecting, sorting and reducing the volume of recyclables. The vehicle has three separate stations for recycling: at one station, eight types of recyclables are sorted by type and crushed and shredded; at the second station, balers are used to bale four types of recyclables; and, at the third, wastes are deposited and, optionally, processed to reduce volume. Altogether, there are twelve categories of recyclable""s that are crushed, shredded and baleed. These include aluminum, bi-metals, three colors of glass, three types of plastics, newspapers, magazines, cardboard and chip board. It is also possible to use the first section to receive cardboard or to bale cans and plastics.
At the first section, a worker or technician sorts the homeowner""s recyclables and possibly regular household wastes into a large container with eight compartments, one compartment for each of the eight primary categories. Between stops and whenever the vehicle is in motion, the container is covered with netting to prevent any recyclables from falling out. Once filled, the container is lifted up the back of the vehicle and part way across the top. As it is moved across the top of the vehicle, a hatch in the roof of the housing is opened allowing the contents of the container to fall into the appropriate bins in the first section of the vehicle. The recyclables fall through chutes to the bins. Each chute is dimensioned to receive the contents of one full compartment of the container. Below the chutes and above the bins are devices that crush or shred the recyclables so that, by the time they fall into the bins, their volume is considerably reduced. After the container is emptied into the chutes, it is moved rearward across the top of the vehicle and back down for re-loading by the technician.
The four categories of baleable waste are taken to the second section of the vehicle, sorted by type into one of four baler bins, and then baleed. When a baler has finished binding each bale, the door to the baler is opened, which automatically kicks the bale out of the baler bin, and then it is dropped from the baling area into a rack that is slung underneath the mid-section of the vehicle.
The third section enables the present vehicle to accept all types of household wastes, including garbage. In a preferred embodiment, the garbage is compacted in the third section or processed in some other way, such as incineration, to reduce its volume.
The combination of volume reduction and sorting in the same vehicle is a major advantage of the present invention. Not only does this permit the vehicle to collect more recyclables before having to return to the central collection station, but it reduces handling. Wastes do not have to be taken from collection bins to crushers and shredders at the central station or at their final destination; rather, they are crushed and shredded when deposited into the bins on the vehicle.
Another feature of the present invention that is important is the combination of balers and crusher/shredders on the same vehicle. This combination means that the present vehicle can collect and prepare all categories of recyclable waste for delivery to their respective recycling facility.
The baler rack is still another feature of the present invention, allowing the baleed waste to be stored on the vehicle, preferably under the baler section out of the way of those operating the baling area.
The various compartments and bins of the present vehicle are dimensioned for collecting residential waste efficiently, another feature of the present invention. Some bins and compartments are larger than others because of variations in the volume of waste of different categories. In general, the bins and compartments are sized for the anticipated volume of waste they are expected to receive.
The closed system of the present invention is a particular feature that it prevents waste particulate created from the volume reduction process from being blown or falling off the vehicle as it goes about its business.
Other features and their advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art of recycling vehicle design from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments, accompanied by the following drawings.